Pierce Hayden Thompson

My nephew was a "Lucky" baby and was born on St. Patrick's Day! He is perfect, Heather did such an amazing job, and we are blessed with this baby boy! He looks so much like Isabella and Heather! He is has a quiet spirit (right now anyway :) and is just so precious! Isabella is doing great with him at home and seems to be going on like normal! Here are some photos of Pierce and his wonderful family!

Times Like These

When someone we have shared our lives with passes on it is so hard to realize they are gone forever. Never will we be able to talk to them or hear their voice again, tell them the things we forgot to say, hug them, or share special time with them again. So many people I know are suffering right now because their loved ones are gone.

I too have lost people dear to me and it is a daily struggle to not be sad. Because I am a christian I know that there is hope after death. My loved ones are with Jesus and are rejoicing in their victory with Him! I am so thankful God takes care of us after we pass on...what an awesome thing to look forward to!

Thank you Jesus for peace during our suffering and for loving us so much that you gave your Son for our sin. I am forever grateful and forever yours!

Please remember in your prayers a few people that need it so much right now...The Dalton family, The Garrison Family, The Guthrie Family, and The Ogelsby Family. A long ago friend of mine named Leigh Garrison passed away this morning from Hodgkin's disease. She had been fighting this since her college days. She is now at rest and can find peace. She leaves behind a husband and two small children.

Thanks

Happy Birthday Tessa!

Today is Tessa's 4th birthday! It is hard for me to think about how big she is getting so quickly. It seems like just found out I was pregnant with her and couldn't wait to be a mommy! I feel humbled and privledged to be Tessa's mommy. I know God chose us for each other and I love having her as my daughter. She is special, beautiful, and amazes me every day with her sweet and witty spirit. She is my baby girl and I love her more than I can express.

Coupons, Coupons, Coupons

Today was my first real attempt to save as much money with as many coupons at the grocery store as I could! I spent alot of time matching up my coupons with the sale adds from Walgreen's and Publix. It paid off! At both stores I spent a rough total of $240.00 and I saved $95.00! I know I can do much better than this next time with more practice but I thought this was incredible!

This is what I did to save money:

Buy 2 Sunday papers and cut out the coupons you will use.

The reason I buy 2 papers: when there are "buy 1 get 1 free" items you can use two coupons because you are buying two of the same items even though one was free! This saves you even more!

Take the weekly grocery store ads out of the paper and match up your coupons.

*Walgreen's is great for savings! They give back Register Rewards on specific sale items which is like getting cash back to use on your next purchase!

Idea: Buy the items that offer Register rewards in your first transactions. You will get paper coupons for your Register Rewards back.

In your second transaction (in the same shopping trip) buy the other items you want that you can get on sale and have coupons for and use the Register Rewards you just got on this transaction to save you even more money!

I know it is a little confusing at first but it is so worth the time and effort! I feel so good about saving my family money each month! It also shows my husband how much I appreciate his hard work to take care of us and I can help out too!

Just wanted to share!

Valentine's Weekend

This weekend started off pretty bad. Greg had the stomach virus Thursday and Friday so our date night plans were moved to Saturday. He still did not feel completely normal until Sunday but we decided to go out anyway. We went to eat at September's (they have the best ribs) and then to see Valentine's Day movie. At dinner we saw some of our best friends (Cam & Jess) who planned the same exact date night as we did! So after a romantic dinner...we met them over at the movies and watched it together.

That was more than enough for me but Greg decided to get me a full day at the spa gift too! We usually do not give gifts for alot of occasions for ourselves and Valentine's is one of those holidays. However, he told me I deserved it and wanted to give me something special! I LOVED it! I hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's weekend with your loved ones too!


On Sunday Tessa's class sang for the whole congregation at the beginning of church. They sand "This Little Light Of Mine". They all did so good and Tessa loved it! She likes to be center of attention...like her daddy:)






When I got to Harrison's room to pick him up this is how I found him. Whenthis boy is tired he just finds a spot and lays down...I already had my camera so I thought I would take this sweet picture of him. Yes...that is an ugly blue bruise on his cheek. The coffee table leg and his cheek got in each other's way:)

Snow Fun!!!

Tessa and I finally got outside to play in the snow and make a snowman! Harrison had to stay inside because he just got over another round of ear infections and this mommy was not gonna have him sick again! We had so much fun with Heather and Isabella! We played and played outside until they were so cold we had to go in! I love this beautiful snow and wish it would come to Tennessee more often!

A Week Without

I was going to title this post as a week without my husband but I didn't think that covered it all. Not only is Greg my husband but he is also my best friend, my supporter, my problem solver, my back massager, my trash man, my cuddle buddy, my jokester, pretty much my everything that I need in a life partner. So my week was pretty interesting!!!

He went on a duck hunting trip in Arkansas with three of his friends. This is his second duck hunting trip and he loves his new hobby! The first trip was only for three nights and this one was for seven. He and I have never been apart from each other this long before...so when he told me this my first thought was "are you kidding me"? After thinking it through I thought it would be good for him to have some down time with his friends and not have any stress. He works so hard to take care of us and give us the things we need and want so I wanted him to have this for himself!

He left last Sunday at 12:30. At 1 Harrison wakes us screaming his head off.I took him to urgent care only to find out he has another round of double ear infections...what??? How does this happen in a 3 week span? So I have a cranky baby who will not sleep and my husband away from home...not good.

Instead of dwelling on these unfortunate turn of events I decide to stay positive and do the best I can. My mom has been wonderful feeding us and being supportive any way she can...I hope to be that kind of mommy for my kids when they are adults!

Friday the kids and I packed up to go stay at mom's and watch the snow come down. It was beautiful and the kids loved being at mom's house! Harrison slept so good but poor Tessa didn't sleep at all. She is back to having bad dreams at night and she wakes up crying every 30 minutes to an hour. Some night are better than others but this night was horrible! Her Dr. says she should grow out of this by age 5 or 6...1 to 2 years left to go....

We decided to come home on Saturday in the hopes that Tessa would sleep better in her own bed...she did...thank you Jesus! Up to this point we had not yet gotten out in the snow because I didn't want two sick kids while Greg was gone. However, after church this morning we went back to mom's for lunch and Tessa and her Papaw just had to go make a snowman...she loves the snow!

Greg is driving back home now after a long trip away! We are so excited and cannot wait to see him! Life is so much better with him here!

Here are some pictures from our weekend!